President Obama goes back to shake hand of Marine he forgot to salute; image@HotGistsHotNews

Dear God. We’ve got another scandal brewing. Clearly the sweat of desperation is rolling down the backs of right wingers caught empty-handed (or, at least, with victory denied) and, needing more grist for the “Get Obama” scandal mill, and like pigs trolling for truffles, they’ve dug up something they’re hoping will get some traction: ‘Big gaffe!,” I read in one faux headline (faux, because once you clicked it, it went to a page with a far less sensationalized title… the old bait n’ switch). The ‘big gaffe’? A focused, obviously distracted President Obama climbed into the Air Force One helicopter and forgot to salute the Marine at the bottom of the stairs.

OMIFREAKINGOD!! WE’VE GOT ANOTHER ONE: SALUTE-GATE!

That made me tired just writing it.

Because God knows how these things can blow up, here are the facts:

A focused, obviously distracted President Obama climbed into the Air Force One helicopter and forgot to salute the Marine at the bottom of the stairs.

Wait. Isn’t that the same sentence at the bottom of the first paragraph? Yes. Yes, it is. Because that’s all there is to the story. There was no disrespect meant, no dissing of the Armed Forces, no elitism related to thinking he’s better than that Marine at the bottom of the stairs; no, the President of the United States just got a little distracted and slipped past a bit of protocol.

The only real story is the follow-up: once the president realized his ‘big gaffe,’ this next really big thing happened:

Upon realizing the faux pas, the president jogged back down to shake hands with the Marine and spoke privately with him before entering the helicopter again. [Source]

Personally, I thought it was a thoughtful gesture made by a powerful man who has the courtesy and good manners (far beyond many I know who have far less to do than he!) to realize he hadn’t responded with the proper protocol and took the time to go back to make it right.

I have a feeling that meant more to the Marine that a rote salute in passing. It’s the little things…